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Lowry and Vizquel anticipate return

Lowry and Vizquel anticipate return

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Good news burst into the Giants clubhouse on Monday morning in the form
of left-handed pitcher Noah Lowry and shortstop Omar Vizquel.

The Giants' two key players are beginning their rehabs from surgeries and were
bouncing around in good spirits.

"I'm going dancing tonight," Vizquel declared, a little less than three weeks after undergoing
arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus from his left knee. The Giants' starting
shortstop is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.

Lowry was practically glowing as he talked about surgery that eased the exertional
compartmental syndrome in his left forearm. He could be throwing off flat ground in a little more
than a week.

"I pray to God this has taken care of the problem I've had," Lowry said. "I'll have an
answer to that in April when I'm back throwing off a mound."

Because Lowry's surgery did not involve cutting into muscle, he will be able to return to action
relatively soon.

"I'm keeping my lower half in shape and doing some basic arm movements," said Lowry, who
went 14-8 with a 3.92 ERA with the Giants last season. "Hopefully I haven't lost much
strength. I worked hard in the offseason to get my body in shape. Right now I've had four or
five days off. That's going to set you back a little, but not [back] a month."

If everything goes according to plan, Lowry and Vizquel could be making their season debuts
at just about the same time.

Vizquel's current regimen has him riding a bike and going through balancing drills, dodging
balls and testing his lateral movement. He won't put any more pressure on his knee for
awhile.

"Everything is going all right," he said. "I'm about a week from running."

The future Hall of Fame shortstop is coming off a season in which he hit .246, his lowest
full-year average since batting .230 with the Seattle Mariners in 1991.

The 11-time Gold Glove winner needs to play 14 games to become the all-time leader at
shortstop, ahead of Luis Aparicio's 2,583. Vizquel is already the all-time leader with 1,657
double plays as a shortstop.